Bottle cap holding cards



Oct. 30, 1962 R. L. HlME ETAL 3,

BOTTLE CAP HOLDING CARDS Filed May 2, 1960 Inventors Robert L. Hz'me Eugene F Lau Zerbac/z B z their Attorney United States This invention relates generally to improvements in cards for holding articles having an open cavity. More particularly the invention is directed to a card having means for attaching used bottle caps and the like thereto to provide a convenient means for collection and storage.

It has been contemplated that among other uses, the invention will be particularly useful in connection with advertising promotions in which the collection of a certain number of bottle caps of a certain brand will entitle a consumer to a prize or premium. In this connection the card must serve two purposes. First, it must be useful for storing the caps during collection, requiring that convenient means be provided for securely attaching the caps to the card. Second, it must facilitate counting by the promotion operators, that is, quick visual inspection showing the card to be filled to capacity will indicate that a predetermined number of caps have been collected. Since some time might elapse during collection, the attaching means must be secure to avoid dislodgment of the caps during rough and repetitive handling. Furthermore, the cards and their attaching means must be adapted to be manufactured inexpensively in large quantities.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a card which will meet the above requirements. To this end the card is particularly adapted for mass manufacture and is provided with a plurality of cuts which form shaped tabs each adapted to attach a bottle cap or similar article. The major portion of each tab is defined by a circular portion which is slightly larger in diameter than the inside or cavity of the cap. The circular portion terminates in two substantially parallel cuts which form a single land connecting the tab to the card. The card material is resiliently stiff but flexible so that when pressed into the bottle cap the tab flexes concavely reducing its size to fit the cap. Since the tab tends to return to its flat condition its size also tends to increase thus exerting a gripping force against the inside wall of the cap. While the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown as directed to the attaching of bottle caps, it should be obvious to those skilled in the art that the concept involved lends itself to attaching any other similar articles.

The above and other objects of the invention together with novel details of construction will be more fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. ,1 is a plan view of a portion of a card embodying the present invention and showing the card partially filled with bottle caps;

FIG. 2 is a section on line l1II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section on line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a portion of a card illustrating a modification of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a section on line VV of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of another modification of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a section on line VII-VII of FIG. 6.

atent ice The card 2 is made from any suitable sheet material such as paperboard which is relatively stiff but resiliently flexible and may be of any desired shape or size, and could be incorporated as part of a panel or carton. The card, only a portion of which is shown, may be provided with one or any other convenient number of tabs 4, the number depending on the use to which the card is intended. Each tab is defined by a circular slit 6 which terminates short of a complete circle in two parallel slits 8 forming a land connecting the tab to the card. The size of this circular portion is slightly larger than the inside dimension of an article such as a used bottle cap C to be attached. It should be understood that the slit 6 could be irregular or of any suitable shape.

To attach a cap or other article to the card the tab 4 is pressed into the cavity of the cap. The act of pressing causes the tab to flex or bend concavely thus reducing its size sufliciently to enter the cavity. Since the tab material is relatively stiif it tends to return to its flat condition thus also tending to increase in size exerting a gripping force against the wall of the cavity confining the edges of the tab. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and '3, the edges of the bottle cap are precrimped forming a lip 10 which acts as a retainer holding the tab in the cap cavity. It should be obvious that the tendency of the tab to expand in size would serve to hold other articles having substantially straight sided cavities even without a retaining lip.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate one modification of the invention in which the diameter of the circular slit 12 defining the tab 4 is sufficiently large and shaped to accommodate the body of the bottle cap to give added support. FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate another modification which provides for a second opposed tab 14- to be cut from the tab 4 and connected to the card as shown. This tab may be suitably bent to retain the cap or other article against movement normal to the card as seen in FIG. 7. It should be obvious from the foregoing that a number of modifications may be utilized in combination with the basic concept of providing a tab which is pressed into the cavity of an article and which by its tendency to return to flat condition exerts a gripping force against the wall of the cavity.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination with a bottle cap or the like; of a holding card of stiffly flexible material having a cutout portion forming a solid tab including a generally circular body portion terminating short of a complete circle in a neck portion connecting said body portion to said card, said body portion being displaced from the plane of said card to provide an opening in said card and located within the internal cavity of said cap, and said cap being located in said opening.

2. The combination with a bottle cap or the like; of a holding card of stii-Hy flexible material having a cut out portion forming a main tab including a solid body portion having opposed arcuate sides terminating at one end in a neck portion connecting said body portion to said card and terminating at the other end in a cut-out connected to said card and extending inwardly of said body portion of said main tab to form an auxiliary tab, said body portion of said main tab being displaced from the plane of said card to provide an opening in said card and located within the internal cavity of said cap,

3 and said cap being located in said opening with said 1,115,860 auxiliary tab engaging the rim of said cap. 1,119,681 References Cited in the file of this patent 2279 UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 20,899 Scholl Oct. 25, 1938 Owen Nov. 3, 1914 Wiebusch July 2, 1929 Laycock Apr. 14, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain 1912 

